This invention relates to a new marking tag for merchandise. The marking tag has an information part for printed matter and a header part for fastening to an elongated component of merchandise. The header part has features useful for the purpose of guiding an elongated component of merchandise into a locked or held condition within the holding orifice of the tag. The elongated component may be a segment of a band of rubber or other material, or a vine or stem or anything else having a segment or stretch of material (i.e., an elongated component) to which the tag may be fastened or affixed.
The new tag is useful for marking a variety of horticultural products having an elongated component, including shrubs, trees, vines, and the like. One embodiment has special application for the marking of banded merchandise.
Banded merchandise has become quite common. The band may consist of rubber or twist tie or string, and may be about one or more boxes or about clumps of merchandise or about rolled or folded merchandise such as a newspaper. A wide practice is that of affixing bands about clumps of agricultural produce, especially at the time of harvesting. The addition of appropriate marking tags on such banded clumps also is desirably accomplished at or near the time of harvesting.
The reason for adding marking tags is because suppliers and mass merchandising outlets such as superstores or supermarkets have placed more and more emphasis on scannable merchandise markings as the key means to control inventory and the accuracy of processing, and they want economy and sales promotion markings.
A critical requirement of marking tags is that they stay in place on the merchandise during the several handling and processing steps in preparing the merchandise for sale to the consumer.
A further critical requirement is that of quick and successful tag affixation to merchandise with minimal worker motions. This can be a serious problem for the marking of horticultural products. Speed in affixing a marking tag to agricultural produce at the time of harvesting must be accompanied by reliability of tag affixation and avoidance of tag damage during cleaning or washing or other steps in moving the produce through marketing channels to the ultimate consumer. Easy and quick affixation without damage to the merchandise and without significant tag loss as a consequence of normal handling are requirements for the marking tags for any of a variety of merchandise items having an elongated component, especially items susceptible to being bruised. This invention provides an unexpected simplified solution to this problem.